The Grouch from the Living Legends crew is back with a banger that went straight to number one on this week's Hip-Hop Top Ten from the Amoeba Music San Francisco store. Thanks to Luis for the chart. Titled Three Eyes Off The Time on Legendary Music, this latest release from The Grouch talks about a variety of subjects, including love in the digital age, which is explored in "The Dangers Of Online Dating." He also continues topics such as fatherhood, explored previously by the emcee on Show You The World. That album, with The Grouch pictured on the cover with his daughter on his shoulder, was released last year. And the profilic emcee, who a few years ago teamed up with Zion I to record an entire album (2006's Heroes In The City Of Dope) has not been idle. Earlier this year, along with Eligh, he released the great collaborative album Say G&E! Unfortunately, Eligh doesn't appear on Three Eyes Off The Time, but others do. Rankin Scroo and Marty James appear on the tracks "Daddy's Home" and "Make Em Think," respectively. And Fashawn and Mistah FAB both cameo on the track "Already," which is only available on this CD version of the album.

The ever prolific Messy Marv (aka The Boy Boy Young Mess), who has released a slew of music already this year, shows up on two new albums on this week's chart: the Highly Aggressive mixtape and also on his full length collaboration Blow with the equally prolific Bay producer/rapper Berner, who follows up another great collaboration with The Jacka (Drought Season 2). The latest collaboration, Blow, is brimming with tight Berner production and features a lot of well known Bay guests, including Lee Majors, B-Legit, J-Stalin, C-Bo, Killa Tay, Fed-X, Equipto, Shag Nasty, Mike Marshall, and Yukmouth.
Also new to the chart is incarcerated Southern rap star Gucci Mane (real name Radric Davis) with the follow up to his 2007 studio album Back To The Trap House. The autobiographically titled The State vs. Radric Davis looks set to push this Alabama born, ATL rapper, who has made guest appearances on songs for the Black Eyed Peas, Mario, Mariah Carey and 50 Cent, even further into the mainstream. Gucci Mane has also collaborated with several Bay Area rappers, including E40 and fellow new chart entry Messy Marv.

On Mane's new album, right from the opening track, "Classical," he addresses his ongoing legal problems. Charged with murder back in 2005, which he claimed was a case of self-defense, the rapper luckily had those charges dropped due to insufficient evidence; but, in a separate case around the same time, he was charged with assaulting a nightclub promoter and for that served a six-month prison sentence which ended in 2006. Then in September of last year he was arrested for parole violation -- he had not fully completed his required 600 hours of community service. He got sentenced to a year in jail, of which he served six months and was released in March. But then just last month, on November 12th, the artist, who appears on the cover of his new album appropriately in prison garb, was arrested again for probation violations and sentenced to another 12 months in prison. He is expected to be released by April. Below is the video for the new Gucci Mane single, “Spotlight,” that features Usher.

Gucci Mane “Spotlight" (featuringUsher)

As reported by NME (New Music Express),Kid Cudi was pulled over at gunpoint by the LAPD earlier this week in a case of mistaken identity. The popular rapper was in LA to play live dates, having recently pulled out of Lady GaGa's Monster Ball Tour, and had been doing a photoshoot with NME outside the Joyrich store on Melrose Avenue. Read the full report here.

Tonight, Christmas Eve, may seem like a night with little going on, but there are certain bars and clubs open and happening, including Club 6 in San Francisco, which will serve up a "Special Xmas Eve Edition" of its reggae flavored Solid Thursdays with resident DJ Daddy Rolo and his crew of rotating selectas, including DJ Mpenzi, Polo, Shortkut, and DJ Fuze. They'll bethrowing down a mix of roots, reggae, dancehall, soca, and mashups. 10pm to 2am. Club 6 is located at 60 6th St. between Market & Mission. More info here.

And on the day after Christmas, Saturday the 26th, DJ Zita and Pam the Funkstress will be throwing a holiday edition of their popular monthly B.A.S.S./Bay Area Sistah Sound party Everlasting Bass on Saturday @ Poleng with special guest sistah DJs Lady Fingaz and Umami also in the mix. The night is also a clothing drive to benefit SF Women Against Rape as well as various woman's shelters in SF. If you go, bring some good used clothes to donate. If you do you will receive a free DJ Zita mix CD!

We may not have passed Christmas or the New Year's celebrations just yet, but already the lists of new hip-hop releases for 2010 are pouring in. Included in early 2010 titles to be released is the the DVD version of The Hip-Hop Project. The film, which was executive produced by the unlikely pairing of Bruce Willis and Queen Latifah, came out two years ago to really positive reviews and won a slew of awards at various film festivals. The Hip-Hop Project tells the tale of a group of New York City teens on a journey of self-discovery.

Driven by ambition and a love of hip-hop, and inspired by a formerly homeless teenager named Kazi, the teens channel their lives' frustrations and tribulations into hip-hop. Spread over four years, they overcome a barrage of obstacles, and produce a powerful, profound hip-hop album that they recorded in a studio donated by Bruce Willis and Russell Simmons. The film will arrive in Amoeba Music on January 5th, 2010. A trailer follows below.